Need some help with lighting! (MVB: yes or no)

[belber095]

So my dragon’s basking bulb went out on me last night, and I’m considering switching over to a MVB setup. I’m picking up a new 75 gallon glass enclosure (48”x18”x21”) on Monday, so if I need to adjust my lighting setup, I’d like to do it all at once. I was running a 150w basking bulb on a stand, an 18” reptisun 10.0, and a 100w CFE in a 30g breeder (36”x12”x16”). My research has led me to believe that a Mega Ray SB bulb is probably my best bet, but should I be using a 100w or 160w? The 150w bulb ive been using was a bit hot and i had to go out of my way to get her lamp even higher than the stand could manage to maintain healthy temps, but I’m not sure if that is going to change now that she’ll be in a tank more than twice her current one’s volume. Is it better to have a low wattage bulb closer or a high wattage bulb further? I’ve read the Mega Rays have a wider beam, does that change things? Can I keep the 18” T5 and move it a bit further from her basking spot? Is too much UV a problem? Is the switch to an MVB beneficial? I’ve seen a lot of mixed opinions on that subject. Just want to make sure her transition to a new tank can go as smoothly as it can, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

If you go with a MVB, you'll have to have another heat lamp. They're powerful at UVB (Megaray anyway), however they suck at heating and to even get the 100-110 temperatures the beardie has to be within 5 or so inches of it which likely will cause over UVB exposure.
Even with a 160 watt it doesn't get high enough unless at that height or closer.
They may have a wider beam but not as wide as a tube light, in fact my beardies hate MVB's with a passion because of the narrowness of it. Especially my adult female, the other two tolerate them for a short time but the adult female flips out and avoids it like the plague, sometimes refuses food entirely with one over her, even superworms and hornworms. (Which are her favorite treats).

Personally I'd just go with a regular 150 watt basking bulb and a 36" or 46" Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 uvb tube.

 

[belber095]

If you go with a MVB, you'll have to have another heat lamp. They're powerful at UVB (Megaray anyway), however they suck at heating and to even get the 100-110 temperatures the beardie has to be within 5 or so inches of it which likely will cause over UVB exposure.
Even with a 160 watt it doesn't get high enough unless at that height or closer.
They may have a wider beam but not as wide as a tube light, in fact my beardies hate MVB's with a passion because of the narrowness of it. Especially my adult female, the other two tolerate them for a short time but the adult female flips out and avoids it like the plague, sometimes refuses food entirely with one over her, even superworms and hornworms. (Which are her favorite treats).

Personally I'd just go with a regular 150 watt basking bulb and a 36" or 46" Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 uvb tube.

Interesting you say that, an article I was reading earlier said that the main issue with them is setting them too close and temps getting too high... there’s so much conflicting information out there.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

I personally own two MVB's for my tegu, not too close to each other because too much UVB is a concern, but she has two basking spots, one luckily has most likely stopped producing UVB (its a 5 month exo terra solar glo) and then the other is a Megaray thats 2 months old.
Both are 160 and both only get the two basking spots to around 105 at 3-4 inches away. Luckily she doesn't seem to mind the high amount of UVB.

They both produce the same amount of heat, but different UVB levels. Megaray lasts a long time for UVB, while the other barely produces anything after a short amount of time.
This is also in a 75 gallon, as she is only 5 months old so she still has a lot of growing before reaching 3-4 feet long and being moved into a 8x3x3 enclosure.
Once moved into that enclosure she's being switched over to a tube light along side a MVB and multiple smaller basking bulbs to get her preferred 115-130 temperatures.

 

[belber095]

I personally own two MVB's for my tegu, not too close to each other because too much UVB is a concern, but she has two basking spots, one luckily has most likely stopped producing UVB (its a 5 month exo terra solar glo) and then the other is a Megaray thats 2 months old.
Both are 160 and both only get the two basking spots to around 105 at 3-4 inches away. Luckily she doesn't seem to mind the high amount of UVB.

They both produce the same amount of heat, but different UVB levels. Megaray lasts a long time for UVB, while the other barely produces anything after a short amount of time.
This is also in a 75 gallon, as she is only 5 months old so she still has a lot of growing before reaching 3-4 feet long and being moved into a 8x3x3 enclosure.
Once moved into that enclosure she's being switched over to a tube light along side a MVB and multiple smaller basking bulbs to get her preferred 115-130 temperatures.

Thanks for the input - are you recommending I not make the switch? Have you ever used a tube bulb for her? If so is there a difference in her activity/mood between the tube and MVB?

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

I mean personally I think it's more of a hassle dealing with MVB than its worth. Yes they produce a lot of UVB, but only in a narrow beam in a single spot meaning the beardie can't go cool off and get uvb as well. They'll always have to bask for it. And the temps dont get to the proper 100-110 temperatures needed with just that light.

For my tegu I have not yet put her near a tube light, she has been raised under MVB's since she was a month old. I'm unaware if she was put outside at her age or not before I purchased her from Underground reptiles, I assume not as she was fairly small and to my knowledge they only put the older ones outside with the smaller ones in a more controlled environment. So it's safe to assume she's always been under MVB lights, unless they use tube lights, I may have to ask them about that to get a defiant answer.
Tegus themselves are very very active large lizards, even as they get older they are still active so I can't imagine how active she'd be under a tube light along side the MVB and other basking lights.
Unless you get them to a unhealthy weight like the red famous tegu Mcgayver is, he is well cared for.... but a bit on the chunky side. Which is one of the side effects of free roaming and probably overfeeding.

Most of my beardies they have all acted negatively toward MVB's. However they have all been raised under tube lights so it's not something their used to.

 

[belber095]

Most of my beardies they have all acted negatively toward MVB's. However they have all been raised under tube lights so it's not something their used to.

My girl is just about a year old, do you think she’d be set in her ways by now?